News: The Mormons Are Coming and Violence In Theater

Violence, the ultimate expression of dramatic conflict, has long been a staple of theater, going back to the days of Og the Caveman retelling his war exploits around the fire.

The way violence is represented in theater is the theme of a free public panel discussion slated for 7 p.m. Wednesday at GableStage where the Congolese civil war is raging just outside the confines of Lyle Baskin’s set in the current production of Lynn Nottage’s Ruined.

Participants will include Joseph Adler, producing artistic director of GableStage; Daniel Castellanos, professor and founding chair of the Florida International University department of psychiatry; Phillip M. Church, associate director of external engagement for the theater department of FIU; Christine Dolen, theater critic of The Miami Herald, and Neal Hecker, vice-president of programming of WPBT.

Bells Are Ringing

In our recent series about the problems of local theater, we talked about the region’s lack of clout being exemplified by the mega-hit musical The Book of Mormon not being scheduled to come to Florida next season when it begins its 2012-2013 tour. Des Moines, yes, but not Florida

Perhaps that prompted the Sunday morning announcement that Mormon will, in fact, come to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts at an as-yet unspecified date in the 2013-2014 season for Broadway Across America.